I conduct three to four game plan sessions a week — exploratory calls with families who are considering working with Carlisle Performance. In those conversations, parents ask a lot of good questions.
One question I almost never get asked: “What is your certification?”
That surprises me, because it’s one of the most important filters available to parents who are trying to make a smart decision about who trains their athlete. So I want to answer it directly and explain what you should actually be looking for.
The Gold Standard: SCCC
The highest credential in the strength and conditioning profession is the Strength and Conditioning Coach Certified (SCCC), administered by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCa).
This isn’t a certification you can earn by completing an online course over a weekend. The requirements to even sit for the exam are substantial.
What It Takes to Earn the SCCC
Before a candidate can sit for the SCCC exam, they must meet three prerequisites:
1. 640 hours under an approved mentor. These hours must be completed under a mentor approved by the CSCCa — not just any experienced coach, but one who meets the organization’s standards. This ensures candidates are learning the profession the right way, inside real training environments.
2. A current CPR/AED certification. This is a baseline safety requirement. Athletes’ wellbeing depends on coaches who are prepared to respond in an emergency.
3. A submitted program design. Candidates must select a sport and design a complete four-week training plan, then submit it to the CSCCa for review before they’re cleared to test. The plan has to demonstrate sound programming — not just effort, but competency.
The Exam Itself
The SCCC exam has two components.
The first is a written exam covering the knowledge base of strength and conditioning — exercise science, program design, sport-specific training principles, and more.
The second is the applied component. This is where candidates go in front of a panel of Master Strength and Conditioning Coaches — the highest designation in the profession — and demonstrate their competency in person. Their submitted program is reviewed. Their ability to coach and execute core movements is evaluated directly.
I hold the Master Strength and Conditioning Coach designation and have served on these evaluation panels. I’ve seen firsthand what separates candidates who have genuinely mastered this material from those who haven’t.
Why This Matters for Your Athlete
At the collegiate level, this credential isn’t optional. When I served as Director of Sports Performance at Purdue University, the SCCC was a hard requirement — candidates without it didn’t make it past HR.
The youth and private training space operates differently. There’s no universal requirement, which means the range of qualifications among coaches is wide. Some are highly credentialed. Others are not.
That’s why asking about certification matters. It’s not about being skeptical of every coach — it’s about having a reliable way to evaluate who has done the work to develop genuine expertise.
If your athlete aspires to compete at the collegiate level, the coaches preparing them should be held to a standard that reflects that aspiration.
Work With a Coach Who Has Done the Work
At Carlisle Performance, every program is built on the same foundation that earned the SCCC designation — sound programming, movement competency, and a training philosophy developed over decades at every level of the sport.
F.A.S.T. School, Strength Power & Explosion, and Speed Academy are each designed with that standard in mind — whether your athlete is just getting started or preparing to compete at the next level.